Standing in the Storm

God’s people would be bolder and braver if their leaders were not afraid to speak about controversial subjects. Fear of losing license because of being leaders in difficult situations and having unpopular views keeps some leaders from leading people to God’s promises.

In chapter 38 of Jeremiah’s record, he prophesied that Jerusalem would be taken by the Chaldeans, and that anyone who surrendered to the Chaldeans would live through it. People who wanted to believe things Yahweh was not saying punished Jeremiah by throwing him into the mud at the bottom of a cistern. King Zedekiah gave them permission to do it, because he was not a leader.

An Ethiopian named Ebed-Melech was a court official in Zedekiah’s palace. His name meant “Bound in the King’s Service.” He heard about the mistreatment of Jeremiah and went to the king, thinking that he was informing him so that he would protect Jeremiah. Zedekiah gave him permission to rescue Jeremiah from the cistern, because he was not a leader.

The Babylonians arrived, overpowered Jerusalem, killed Zedekiah’s sons in front of him and then blinded him. He was carried away to Babylon. Jeremiah prophesied to Ebed-Melech the words of Yahweh: “I will rescue you… Because you have trusted Me, you will keep your life like the spoils of war.”

Nebuchadnezzar ordered that the poor in Jerusalem be given fields and vineyards, and that Jeremiah should be given freedom to go anywhere in the world that he desired.